Tell us what sparked the idea for FoodCloud? I was a third-year Business and Economics student at Trinity when I met Aoibheann O’Brien who was a post-graduate student completing a master’s degree in environmental science. Aoibheann and I both share a mutual love of food and a distaste for food waste. Aoibheann had been involved in grassroots organisations in the UK that were redistributing food and noticed that this activity wasn’t happening in Ireland. She brought this idea to an Enactus event, and the moment I heard it, I instantly knew I wanted to get involved. The idea was commercially viable and would have a hugely positive social and environmental impact in Ireland. Tell us how you launched the business while studying for your finals? While all my friends were filling out applications for graduate programmes, I was thinking about how I needed to launch FoodCloud while I was still in college for it to be successful. I had a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips, so I began using my lectures to learn as much as possible about the feasibility of FoodCloud. Aoibheann and I brought the idea to Trinity’s student accelerator programme, LaunchBox, just two weeks after my finals. It was a game-changer. Based in Regent House for three months, we were mentored by some of Trinity’s most well- respected alumni entrepreneurs. It gave us precious time and confidence to launch the business. Tell us how you grew the business? We were on a mission to rescue as much food in Ireland as possible. We set out to connect businesses that had surplus food with charities and community groups that needed it. We first pitched the idea to a Tesco Manager from the Talbot Street branch who really cared about food waste. He supported the idea from the outset. Soon we had all Tesco stores across Ireland involved and created a network of charities to collect food from the supermarket stores using our App. Aldi and Lidl joined, and Tesco UK signed up in 2016. Today, we work with a network of over 650 charities in Ireland, another 7,000 in the UK, from homeless shelters to youth clubs to women’s refuges to elderly centres. How have FoodCloud services been impacted by the pandemic? The reality of COVID-19 was that thousands of vulnerable families and people in communities across Ireland had difficulty accessing food. Whilst tackling the environmental issue of food waste has always been our primary focus, in March 2020 we launched the COVID-19 Emergency Food and Funding Appeal, the first time in our seven-year history that we asked for non-surplus donations. During the peak of the pandemic in April and May, FoodCloud more than doubled the amount of food redistributed from an average of 30 tonnes per week in February to over 60 tonnes per week. By December 2020, our three hubs distributed 77% more food than in 2019 to over 280 charities and community groups across Ireland. What’s next for FoodClood? Food redistribution provides an opportunity to reduce food waste and tackle food insecurity, whilst also raising awareness about the problem of food waste across governments and the food industry. The pandemic has raised the profile of food banks and food recovery organisations that provide essential social safety nets for mitigating food poverty and food insecurity around the world, whilst reducing the environmental impact of surplus food arising from supply chain disruptions. Yet there is a lot more work to do. Food waste is responsible for 8-10% of human emitted GHGs globally and it is ranked as a vital solution for reversing climate change. In Ireland approximately 1 million tonnes of food is wasted annually and last year FoodCloud redistributed just 0.33% of total food waste. Food banks globally have really stepped up to meet the challenges of the pandemic, but we need a step change in how food banks work if we are going to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 (to halve food waste). Our Ambition These unique perspectives and the growth in demand for our services have driven our ambition to do more. FoodCloud is focused on ensuring Ireland delivers on its commitment to Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger), 12.3 and 13 (Climate Action) by 2030 through our solutions for food redistribution in Ireland, and also supporting the global achievement of the goals by connecting an international community of food banks working to redistribute surplus food across the global food supply chain through our technology platform. Click here to find out more
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